Fastus
by aspentree11
Summary: Peter's POV in Allegiant. Give it a shot. It'll be different than others. Starts off immediately.
1. Chapter 1

The gun was pointed at my head. I could feel the cool barrel pressing between my hairs. I could feel the intensity of my heart beating. I could even feel her breath. Was this the end? Is this what it felt like? I always imagined it to be in slow motion. But for some reason, it seemed like it was going fast. Like this was just a regular moment in time. As if death was just a word.

"You're a traitor?" The last word shook in Evelyn's voice. "_You?_" Somehow, I managed to smile.

"I'm sorry, but have you ever listened to anyone?" I barked at her, laughing as I did it. "I stabbed a guy in an eye, I tried killing your son's girlfriend, and I managed to betray both Dauntless and Erudite in one day. Alice was right. When did you think making me the big guy was a good idea?" I noticed how the barrel was vibrating. She was shaking.

"Why?" She hissed. "You're the perfect soldier. You're ruthless, daring, proud-"

"And selfish," I interrupted her, my eyes flashing, "I am selfish." At first she was quite, pondering on what could have ever made me throw away the best offer ever.

"You did this for a girl, didn't you?" She said, hiccupping, as if she was trying to laugh. "When has doing anything _selfish_ had to do with a girl?" My lips tipped down. I was going to deny it. Doing it for a girl? What am I, some stupid boyfriend?

"No, it is selfish. I didn't do it for her. I did it _because _of her. Because I don't want to live without her," I told her honestly, "I guess I'm more like your son than you thought, Evelyn; I'd rather burn down the entire world, than watch her die at your hand."

(insert three dashes)

The Beginning

_Run_, a voice tells me, _this is the time to go_. Everybody's eyes are on the screen. Nobody is watching me. Nobody will notice.

"Like the rest of you, I will voluntarily forget my name, my family, and my home."

But I'm caught too. And for the first time I wonder what world I live in.

"I will take on a new identity, with false memories and a false history."

I look at my mother, who was always such a good liar despite being in Candor. Did she know this? She would lie to me if I asked.

"But so that you know the information I have provided you with is accurate, I will tell you the name I am about to take as my own."

And before I know who is right, before I know which side will win and which side is going to lose as soon as the projection stops, I look at the Factionless. They all have guns. But half of them don't know how to use them. It was like giving out guns with no bullets. It was foolish.

"My name will be Edith Prior."

But it doesn't matter because I am strong. I am dauntless. _They_ are the stupid ones.

I hear screaming around me. Even my mother, who has a hollow look in her eyes and never stands up for anything, is screaming. Evelyn – I think that was her name – is trying to gain control, and my eyes seem to find Tobias and Tris. Tris is in awe, but Tobias is smiling.

_Go. _

I go toward the person nearest me with a gun, an elder factionless lady, and I don't have time to feel guilty. Before I can think, I kick the gun out of her hand, startling her. It falls between my fingers, and suddenly there are many guns on me, but they don't know how to shoot, and the people who do know how to shoot are the closest ones to Evelyn, who don't notice me because of the screaming.

Quickly, I grab my mother, but she yanks away from me.

"No!" She barked, betrayal rising in her eyes. I swallowed thickly.

"Mom, we have to go," I tell her tightly. But she doesn't know me. Not really. Of course, she probably knows deep down that I'm the only one she has left. But she doesn't care.

"No-" A bullet hits her. My eyes fall to the gunman. It was a factionless man who obviously found a way to shoot, just didn't aim well. My mom falls to the ground, blood spouting out of her chest. But I don't have time to save her. She will probably die anyways.

Quickly, I rush through the weaving people. I don't know where I'm going. I don't care.

Around me, some dauntless are trying to fight back and attempting to get guns, but the people who don't know how to use guns are either following Evelyn out the door, or they are shooting blindly and it would be foolish to step near them.

"Where do you think you're going?" A thick hand yanks me back. My eyes dart back. Tobias is standing behind me, along with a few other Dauntless. I smile.

"Where do you _think_ I'm going? I'm not stupid!" I spit at him. His eyes flash.

"Give me your gun," He demands. I hold my gun tighter.

"No! It's my gun," I growl. He takes a deep breath.

"Peter, I know the way out. But I need a gun."

"Get your own!"

"Who's side are you on, Peter?" I try not to look at him. Because he looks just like me. His eyes reflect the same emotions as mine do: fear, pain, pride. It's a common mix of traits for a dauntless to have, but I don't like people like me. So instead, I look at the hell in front of me. Bodies are falling to the ground, Evelyn is ushering people on her side out, and there are casualties on both sides. The only people who are confused and lost are us. We don't have a leader. We only have ourselves.

"Are you on our side, or are you on theirs?" I heard his voice ask. "It's time to ask yourself that." I swallowed and finally look at him again.

"Mine," I said, "I'm on my side." I'm ready for him to hit me, but I know he won't. Not in this chaos. Of course, he and his buddies can gang up on me, but they are waiting for something. More than just some gun.

"Then trust me," Tobias said, "If you think you can get out of this by yourself, you're stupid." For some reason I look at Tris. I don't owe her anything anymore. And I know if I go with them someone will probably save my life again, and I'll owe them. It's how wars go.

But, before I can convince myself out of it, I feel myself throw my gun at him. I can't make it out of here alive by myself and we both know it.

"Come on," he says, looking at the small group he has behind him; Christina, Uriah, people like that. We're not much, but we're strong. We follow him, weaving through the screaming people. I catch the sight of my mom's dead body.

I don't care.

(three dashes here)

"Where are we going now?" Two minutes pass and we're still in the compound. Most of Evelyn's people are out, but there are a few floating around still in the chaos. We wind through so many halls that I forget where we are. But that might just because I'm trailing behind them and I can't see. If something bad happens, I don't want to have to go through five dauntless to get away.

I regret following them already.

"Shut up, Peter," Tris snaps back at me, "We're working at it." I glare at her.

"My apologies for caring about my life," I growl. Uriah smirks at me.

"Forgiven," he mutters back sarcastically. Christina next to him laughs. And suddenly, all at once, I'm the joke all over again.

We take another hall. And then Tobias stops, causing the rest of us to freeze.

"Tris," he says aloud, "Do you see anybody out there?" They are wasting time staring at a window. Slowly, I creep between the dauntless, growing closer to Tobias.

"I don't think so," Tris replies, "But Evelyn will definitely be rounding the corner." But if we go now, we can get through. It'll only be a couple factionless ready to fight, and at this point we have to risk it.

Before they can do anything, I knock Tobias to the ground. He clutches his gun, because he thinks I'll take it, but I don't. Instead, I use the same leg to kick open the window. It cracks and clashes to the ground. I'm waiting for people to scream at me, but nobody does. Instead, we all dart out. Tobias runs next to me, probably to curse at me.

"What the hell was that?" He screamed at me. I try not to look at him; I'm right, there is factionless rounding the corner, about three. And I'm fairly sure they have guns but they look confused too. As if they are simply trying to find a way out, rather than killing us.

"There's a bus!" I hear Christina spot out_. That has to be where they are going_, I think to myself.

"That's where they are running to," Tris says. I glance at her, and she glances at me. Another thing that makes us alike.

The bus is growing closer. I try to keep my eye on it. I try not to look away.

"They are getting closer, Tobias," Tris growls. Tobias holds out his gun, but as the people grow closer, he hesitates. Why is he hesitating?

"We can make it," he reassures us, though he keeps his gun out. Maybe we can, I say to myself hopefully. But they are the same exact distance as us, just on the other side.

My legs are burning. So are my lungs. People are coughing behind me. We are dauntless, yet we can't run to a bus.

"I gave you that gun for a reason!" I hear myself yell at Tobias. "Just kill them!" But he can't do it and we're only about fifteen meters apart now. This time, I can't handle it. I jump sideways, catching Tobias and making him fall to the ground. He hits the concrete hard, his eyes rolling back. Somebody screams behind me, but nobody knows what side I am on. Nobody knows if they should stop me.

I grab the gun from him, and point it at the factionless group. But as I look at them, I understand why he didn't shoot. They're kids. Two boys and a girl. The boy looks about my age. The girl looks a bit younger. And there's a little boy who is probably still in grade school. Fear is filling their eyes. And for some reason I can't shoot them either. Something stops me. Like it is instinct.

But then the eldest of the three – a boy, who probably isn't that much older than us, holds out a gun. Theres a girl in front of him, I realize, and she slows down, only to whip her head at him. She's screaming at him. But I know that look in his eyes; that look of survival.

And then he shoots at me. I don't have time to move. I'm going to die. I am going to be shot, just like my parents. Just like everybody else. Just another casualty.

But the girl is stupid. She doesn't just turn her head around; she turns her whole body, shifting herself, not on purpose but to fully yell at the boy. And the bullet hits her.

"No!" It comes from me. Because I still don't know why I can't shoot them. I need to know why I can't shoot them.

The boy freezes, drops the gun. He's shaking. He has to be shaking. He yanks the younger boy up into his arms, and bolts the other way. I get up from Tobias. My eyes are on the bus. I hear two people yelling to get Tobias up, because he's a lean guy and it'll take multiple people. But I feel myself running.

I don't stop until I'm next to the girl. I kneel next to her. There is blood spouting out her arm, but the bleeding looks bad. Her eyes are flickering. They look green, I think to myself. And her hair is red. And then I understand why I couldn't kill them. I knew her.

I owe her, I corrected myself. I owe her.

So I pick her up and run to the bus.

**AN**: I tried keeping Veronica's style. Of course it's a little different, and it's set in right after Insurgent (if you didn't get that). Review if you could, so I know if I should update


	2. Chapter 2

"Move!" I snap as I charge into the van, the small body dangling in my arms. I fall into one of the back rows, far enough that it left a few rows between me and the rest of them. At a distance, I could hear somebody rev the engine, charging off the premises like some banshee.

Nobody says a word when I rest her head onto my lap. A couple glance back warily at me, as if they don't trust me to handle a little girl.

"As if I'd trust you losers to save her life," I grumble, my voice low enough that they can't hear me but loud enough for it to ring in my ears. My eyes slowly drop down.

Blood was still sprouting out of her arm fast, causing my own hands to soak in dark red blood. Quickly, I take the shirt I have over my undershirt and wrap it around her arm. The bleeding seizes, but she still doesn't wake up. And in a way, I'm kinda glad. I don't want to explain to somebody why I saved their life.

"What now?" I hear Stiff say, still out of breath. From a distance, I could see her doing the same thing to Four. I roll my eyes and toss my head toward the window. Without meaning to, I stroke the little girl's red hair.

"I dunno," somebody says shakily, "I really don't know. Where else can we go? The Erudite has infiltrated everything. And now that Evelyn has everything the Erudites infiltrated…"  
"I can always just turn the car toward Abnegation-direction," another voice suggests. My eyes flicker up toward the driver's seat, a curiosity sparking in me, and I internally groan. Uriah is driving.

"No, no," Christina argues in her annoying high-pitched voice, "That's our previous headquarters. It'll be obvious."

"What about the factionless?" A thick voice asks.

"That's where the factionless are staying, Zeke," Uriah scuffs at him, "Why can't we just make our own camp? Go outside the fence?" _Because that's exactly what a dead guy would do. _

"That would be stupid," Stiff says quickly, "We don't know what's out there. Being the first to leave…It's foolish."

"What about Candor? I mean, obviously not the compound area, but they have houses don't they? Families living there? And most of the Candor are dead. There has to be empty houses." I feel a hollow pain in my stomach, but I shake it away. _Whatever, _I think to myself, _it doesn't matter._

"Actually, that's not that bad of an idea," an Asian girl interrupts, "I mean they won't expect us to be there."

"Okay, everybody cool with that?"

And then every eye ripples back at me in unison.

"What?" I snap.

"Can we trust him?" Christina asks, still staring at me as if I was the devil or something.

"Filthy little traitor?" Uriah chuckles mirthlessly. "Of course not."

"Hey, I got you guys a gun!" I burst. "You promised me you'd keep me safe." Stiff looked down at Four.

"He did say-"

"He gives a crap about what Four promised him? It's _Peter_," Zeke cuts off, "He'll betray us the second we give him the chance. And then what? You think we can get lucky again?" There was a fire in his overly-dark eyes, and my eyes flickered at Uriah instantly. Were they…brothers?

"You owe me!" I yell. "You all do!" Stiff's eyes sharpen. I feel a twitch on my lap.

"Eye for an eye, right Peter?" She says, choking slightly. "We can't survive with someone who lives that way. So go on! Give us one reason why we should keep you!" I hesitate. What was my reason? I gave them a gun, apparently they weren't very appreciative.

But then it hits me. Like a slate of glass crashing to the ground.

"My family is Candor," I mumble, keeping my voice as even as possible, "My parents are dead, and I don't have any siblings. If you guys want a house without getting caught, you'll need me." At first there is silence. I see the hatred in all of their eyes, but I caught them. They are vulnerable at my will.

"Great. We have to keep the rat now, don't we?" The Asian chick sneers. Nobody objects. Nobody says a word. So I sit back, cradling the young girl's head onto my lap tighter, and stare out the window until we make it to the Candor compound.

(Three dashes)

"Now what?" I peered up at him, surprised that he followed the directions accurately. I had given him a series of instructions on how to get to the suburb section of the Candor, rather than straight to the city, but once I hear the question fall out of his mouth I can't help but glance up. A thousand houses, different bright obnoxious colors, hovering at a distance. I notice a few people scurrying the streets by themselves, but nobody who struck me. I'm surprised that it's mostly deserted. I guess that most people are truly either dead or with Evelyn. But I still can't help but let myself glaze over the familiar agriculture as we grow closer. For a moment I can't remember why I left.

Honesty was harsh. Honesty was needed.

"Are there guards at the gate?" I finally say. Uriah nods at me through the mirror. A smile plays on my lips.

"Lie," I say simply. His face flushes.

"Lie to a bunch of Candor? You think I'm that stupid?" He growls, his hands clutching the wheel tightly.

"Tell him your Peter…" I hesitate for a second. My last name was something nobody around me knew. A secret. But I hear myself say it, "Peter E'claire."

His eyes narrow.

"And they won't realize that Peter E'claire isn't me?" He asked. I shrug in response. He huffs, going toward the gates. I don't hear what he says, but within ten seconds the gate is open and he drives through. I raise my eyebrows at him, but I don't say a word. Instead I look down at the girl in my lap.

_I wonder if she'll remember me_, I think to myself, _and what will happen if she doesn't?_

"God these houses are obnoxious," Zeke snarls, "Neon green? Banana yellow? What kind of orange is that? Puke?" People laugh around him, but my lips tighten. I shouldn't defend the Candor, but I can't help it.

"They are colorful because it symbolizes honesty," I mutter, "Nobody here believes in boring, grey, identical homes. They think it hides truth. That it hides honesty." Nobody says anything for a moment, but then Uriah nods.

"Makes sense," he replies, "Speaking of which, which of these obnoxious houses is yours, Peter E'claire?" I point past the corner, toward a small cul-de-sac.

"The one in the middle," I say.

"The one that's flamingo pink?" A girl, whose name I can't place, snorts. I roll my eyes. When he parks into the driveway, people start to unravel out, and I slowly come out too, but when I walk into the grass I can't help but stare.

The house wasn't flamingo pink. It was my house. Where I learned how to ride a bike, and tie my shoes, and all those stupid things that brings me back to my past. So I sigh earnestly, looking down at the young girl that I was cradling in my arms. She was still sound asleep, with her bright red hair blowing in the wind.

But then I hear a scream. "PETER!"

(insert dashes here)

"What are you doing here?" My voice vibrates in my kitchen. Most of my new 'friends' are frozen in the kitchen, but nope – my favorite person is sitting at my table in my seat eating _my _favorite cereal.

"What are you doing here?" He mimics back. I glare at him, setting the girl down on the couch gently.

"It's my kitchen," I say stiffly. He smiles at me, but I hold his gaze.

"Who's he?" A voice blurts.

"Isn't he the…"  
"The guy that ran our truth tests?" Yes, it was Niles. He smiles at me, and I'm sure none of the rest of them can see past it. Instead, they all stand a few feet away from him, not sure if they should grow closer. I notice how Stiff's eye contact is elsewhere.

"Get out!" I shout at him, my fists balled. "Get out you-"

"I'm surprised you had the nerve to come back," Niles smirked off, "After everything." I chewed in the inside of my lip, trying to hide the nervousness.

"I see that," he mutters, "The chewing. If you were ever good at being Candor, you-" Suddenly, I was in the air, my shoulder arched back. I hear screams behind me, and for just a second I see fear flicker in Niles's eyes, but then I feel someone jerk me back.

"LET GO OF ME!" I roar. "You stupid people don't understand!" But when I glance back, I realize its Four who is holding me back. He looks barely stable – his body is shaking, and he looks like he may pass out again, but he manages to hold me back. My jaw clenches.

"Let go of me," I say coolly, "Let go of me or I swear I'll kill you too-"

"Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Four isn't addressing me. He's addressing Niles. Niles's smirk goes down.

"Unless you're divergent and-"

"He's a good liar. He probably ran to the suburbs like a coward," I answer for him. Four's eyes narrow toward Niles.

"I'm going to let you go," I hear Four whisper to me feebly, "And you're going to sit down. He's not worth it, Peter." _He is_, I want to say, _he deserves to die more than anybody_.

But when Four lets me go, I stumble backwards and fall toward the wall. I clench it until I feel my fingers dig into the wallpaper and my breath goes back to a steady rhythm. When I look up again Four is standing over Niles calmly, yet intimidatingly. Niles shrinks back a little. I could never understand how Four did that. He wasn't that tall compared to most dauntless guys, nor did he really have that much muscle on him. But he had this way in making people believe he could do anything.

"It's the safest house," Niles replies, "It's in the back of the suburbs, less noticeable. You guys aren't the first people to think of going to Candor, you know."

"Is there more people?" Four asks sharply. When Niles hesitates, Four jumps him. The chair comes crashing down, splitting into pieces. Neils shrieks, but when he scrambles up Four takes hold of his collar and bring him to his nose.

"Yes," Niles blurts, "Yes. There are some people in the surrounding houses and some people upstairs."

"Upstairs? But I don't hear anybody," Four's fingers slacken, "How big is this place?" Niles's eyes flicker at me, as if waiting for me to answer for him, but then he speaks.

"Three floors, six bedrooms," he chokes, "It's the best house in a quarter mile."

"Dang, how rich are you Peter?" Uriah blurts. I see everybody else is thinking the same thing too. Even Christina's eyes look shocked. I roll my eyes.

"None," I say, "It's my parent's house." And I'm not Candor anymore.

"Right," Niles says shakingly, "Which is why you have no right to call this place." Before I can even snarl in response, Four has a gun to his head.

"Peter is their son," he says coolly, "Which means he automatically inherits the house, you got that?" Niles's eyes flicker frantically.

"You don't understand, we need this place," Niles begs, "If not, we can't survive out there. We're traitors now." And then something fills Four's eyes – pity? He takes the gun off Niles's head.

"Tris and Christina, go check upstairs and see who's up there," he says, "The rest of you gather everything in the house that may get us to stay alive. Peter, come with me."


End file.
